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Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was the first plane that was built in Kingston. Specifically built in Brooklands, the biplane had its strengths. It had a powerful rotary engine and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Although it shot down 1,294 other planes, it had things that need to be improved. It was difficult to handle and manoeuvrability needed improvement. -
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Kingston's Aviation History
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Hawker Cygnet
The Hawker Cygnet was designed for a competition in light aircraft, hence the fact that only 2 were built. A wood and fabric construction gave it a comfortable 3rd place. -
Hawker Hart
The Hawker Hart was a biplane light bomber which had a prominent role in the RAFs inter-war period. There were many variants of this plane built. This plane showed good performance, specifically in handling. -
Hawker Fury
Also known as the Hawker Hornet, this aircraft was a single engine biplane with streamlined cowling and the new Rolls Royce engine. This was an improvement upon previous planes and a strength. -
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was probably the most important aircraft in WWII. If it was not for the Hawker Hurricanes Britain would have lost the battle of Britain to the Germans. 60% of the RAFs air victories in WWII were won by the Hawker Hurricane. -
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was purely a fighter-bomber plane with well equipped bombs. It was larger than the Hawker Hurricane but had many design problems. -
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest improved upon the Hawker Typhoon. The Typhoon had wings that were too thick which caused airflow problems. This was a strength in the Tempest. The wings were also more streamlined. -
Hawker Sea Hawk
This aircraft had a role, like many other aircraft, of being a naval warfighter. It was fitted wit hthe Rolls Royce Nene engine and had the cockpit shoved to the extreme front. -
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter was a manouverable aircraft which was adapted to reconnaissance missions and fighter-bomber missions, serving in numerous conflicts. On 7 September 1953, the modified first prototype broke the world air speed record, achieving 727.63 mph (1,171.01 km/h). The Hawker Hunter had improved upon previous planes as it had been given better jet propulsion through airframe design. After WWII, it was apparent that jet propulsion was the future of flight development. -
Hawker Harrier
Also known as the harrier jumpjet, the Hawker Harrier was the first operational close-support and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and landing capabilities. These were big strengths and improvements for any aircraft at the time.
